Dr. Lian is a spatial epidemiologist, with research interests that focus on spatial-correlated epidemiological methodology and its application in cancer prevention and control.

He has extensive training and research experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), spatial statistics, and Bayesian hierarchical modeling. His work has included geographic clustering/hot-spots, developing modeling-based maps, and constructing indexed measurements of built environments. These tools help elucidate, among other things, the roles of neighborhood disadvantages in diseases and relevant health risk behaviors.

Dr. Lian is also interested in gene-neighborhood interaction in cancer-related risk behaviors, such as cigarette smoking.